Foundation garment



Sept. 26,1950 M. H. WITTENBERG FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed April so, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. fi/maflkir 6 W/ raw/351m Ana ATTORNEY p 1950 M. H. WlTTENBERG 2,523,409

INVENTOR. MARG/Jflf r// WITTENBERG ATTORZVEY Sept. 26, 1950 M. H. WITTENBERG" 2,523,409

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed April 30, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 26, 1950 by mesne assignments, to Jantzen Knitting Mills Inc., Portland, Oreg., a corporation of Nevada Application April 30, 1946, Serial No. 666,089

The present invention relates to foundation garments such as, for example, garments of the type usually referred to as girdles and corselets.

One object of the present invention is to pro vide a foundation garment which is particularly well adapted for wear by juniors or other wearers having slim figures. More specifically, in accordance with this object of the invention, the girdle or other foundation garment is so constructed that it snugly fits the waistline and yet fits properly over the hips.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment of the fitted type, as distinct from an ordinary tubular garment, which is constructed to fit the wearer properly and yet is devoid of seams in the portions of the garment which overlie the hip bones of the wearer.

A further object is to provide a foundation garment with panels which extend laterally from the front central front panel over the hips of the wearer and to the central back panel, said laterally extending panels being formed of oneway stretch material and disposed in the garment so that the front portions of said laterally extending panels are laterally stretchable but longitudinally non-stretchable, while the back portions of said laterally extending panels are stretchable longitudinally as well as laterally.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a foundation garment of the corselet type which is constructed so as to be resiliently yieldable longitudinally of the garment in the portions thereof between the hip encircling parts of the garment .and the brassiere part of the garment whereby to prevent excessive down ward pull on the wearers bust.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood from the following description reference being had to the illustrative and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a girdle embodying the present invention, illustrating the same as it appears on the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the back of the girdle as it appears on the wearer;

Fig. 3 is a view of parts of the girdle before they are secured to each other;

Fig. 4 is a side view of a corselet embodying the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of the corselet, illustrating the same as it appears on the wearer;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the back of the corselet as it, appears on the wearer.

5 Claims. (Cl. 2 30) wearer.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and first to the form of the invention illustrated .in Figs. 1.to 3, the foundation garment I'll, here shown as .a girdle, comprises a central front panel I2 for flattening the abdomen and therefore formed of inelastic fabric, and a back panel M which is ordinarily formed of one-way stretch material, said back panel being longitudinally elastic or stretchable and laterally inelastic or non-stretchable. Panels l6 are stitched, and thereby secured, to portions 58 of the opposite side edges respectively of front panel l2 and extend laterally from said side edges to the adjacent side edges respectively of back panel [4, the rear edges of panels [6 being stitched, and

thereby secured, to the adjacent side edges respectively of said back panel as indicated at 23.

it will be noted that thev lower edge of the front panel l2 terminates above the lower edge of the girdle and that a front central gore 22 is stitched to the lower edge of said front panel as indicated at 24 and to the adjacent edge portions of panel [6. Gore 22 is preferably formed of one-way stretch material and is disposed in the garment so that said gore is laterally stretchable or elastic and is inelastic or non-stretchable longitudinally of the wearer.

Itwill b noted that the front edges of panels [6 extend upwardly from the lower front edge portion of the girdle and are curved in diverging relation upwardly and rearwardly terminating at the'back of the garment substantially at the waistline of the wearer as indicated at 26 in Fig. 2 It will be observed that the laterally extending panels l6 extend over the hip bones of the wearer and .are devoid of seams in the areas thereof which overlie the wearers hip bones when the garment is in position on the This is of considerable advantage in avoiding discomfort to the wearer. Preferably each panel [6 is of one piece construction and is formed of one-way stretch elastic woven fabric.

,Also it will be observed that back panel [4 ter minates at its upper edge adjacent the waistline of the wearer. More particularly, as here shown, the back panel 1 3 terminates somewhat below thewaistline and has an insert l4 stitched thereto as indicated at 28 and stitched also to the In accordance with the present invention the 3 waist encircling portion of the garment is constructed so that the garment closely fits the wearer at the waistline without interfering with the proper fit of the garment over the wearers hips. For this purpose the waist encircling portion which includes the upper part of the front panel 12, is provided with parts 32 which are stitched to the side edge portions 34 of the opposite sides respectively of front panel I2 and which have lower curved edges 36 which are stitched to the adjacent curved edge portions of the companion panel [6 as indicated at 36. It

'will be understood that the lines of stitching for securing the panels 16 to the gore 22, panel [2 and waist-forming pieces 32 are continuous at the forward side edges respectively of panels Hi. The waist encircling portion also includes a rear waist band part 38 which is stitched to the upper edge of back panel insert M as indicated at 40 and to the adjacent ends of pieces 32 as indicated at 42.

' The panels l6 which extend laterally between two 'front and back panels l2 and 14 respectively are,'as indicated above, preferably formed of oneway stretch woven fabric and are disposed in the garment so that the elastic threads are substantially horizontal in the front portions of said laterally extending panels but are inclined downwardly and toward the seams 28 at the opposite side edges of the back panel l4 whereby the front portions of panels it are laterally elastic or stretchable but are longitudinally substantially non -stretchable or non-elastic, while the back portions of panels 16 are longitudinally stretchable or elastic as well as laterally stretchthat said pieces are elastic or stretchable laterally of the wearer and are non-stretchable or nonelastic longitudinally of the wearer. It will be noted that the waist encircling portion of the garment is shaped to snugly lit the wearer at the waistline and therefore has an outward flare 'above the line of minimum girth of the waistline to conform to the corresponding curvature of the wearer at the waistline.

In Figs. 4, 5, and 6, the invention is shown embodied in a foundation garment [a of the corselet 'type, i. e. a garment comprising a girdle and a brassiere in unitary relation. As here shown, the front or abdomen flattening panel [2a, formed of inelastic fabric, extends upwardly beyond the waistline and is secured to the brassiere part 44 of the garment at the lower 'central edge portion of said brassiere. The laterally extending panels [6a are of substantially the same construction and arrangement as the panels I6 of the garment l0 and likewise the back panel Ma is of the same construction and arrangement as the back panel IA of garment ID. The panels lfia terminate at the waistline of the wearer as indicated at 26a, and a form fitting insert Ma of panel 14a is provided as in garment I0. 'I-Iowever, since in garment 0a, the girdle part of the garment is attached to the brassiere part of the garment, the waist encircling portion is not only shaped andarranged to fit snugly 'around the wearer's waistline but also extends from the torso coverin or girdle part of the garment to the brassiere part 44 and for that purpose comprises the pieces 46 which are similar to the pieces 32 of garment Ill but which are of greater vertical extent, for obvious reasons, than the fitted waist pieces 32 of garment l0. Also the back part 48 to which the ends of pieces 48 are stitched is of greater vertical extent than the band 38 of garment 10, whereby to form the back of the brassire.

In garment Illa the pieces 46 are preferably formed of one way stretch material and are disposed in the garment so that said pieces can stretch and contract laterally of the wearer, it being noted that as illustrated the garment is preferably circumferentially continuous and that the lateral stretch of pieces 46 enables the garment to be put on and taken Off without the provision of releasable parts which would require the use of a slide fastener or other fastening means. Although pieces 46 are preferably formed of oneway stretch material and are disposed in the garment so that they are stretchable or elastic laterally of the wearer, it is within the scope of the present invention to make said pieces of twoway stretch material or of one-way stretch material and in the latter case to dispose the oneway stretch material in the garment on the bias so that they are longitudinally as well as laterally stretchable. It will be understood that when pieces 46 are formed of two-way stretch material or of one-way stretch material or even of inelastic material and are disposed in the garment on the bias, said pieces even though formed of inelastic material are capable of stretching both laterally and longitudinally and that the longitudinal stretchable characteristic of said pieces reduces the downward pull transmitted to the brassiere by the attachment of the stockings to the garter tabs of the garment. It will be observed that panels l6a while extending over the hip bones of the wearer of the garment, are without seams in the areas of said panels which are positioned over the hip bones, so that the garment properly fits over the wearers hips and yet the waist encircling portion, like that of garment Ill, is properly fitted to the wearer so as to snugly encircle the wearer at the waistline, and moreover these desirable results are accomplished without an undesirable degree of downward pull on the brassiere.

It will be understood that various changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made in the garments embodying the present invention without departing from the underlying idea or principles thereof within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A foundation garment comprising a torso encircling part including a substantially nonstretchable front panel, a rear panel, and side panels stitched to opposite side edges of said front and rear panels, respectively, said side panels each including a lower part extending over the sides of the wearers hips and terminating at it up per end below the wearers waistline and an upper part stitched to said upper end and extending upwardly thereof, said lower part being stretchable laterally of the wearer and substantially nonstretchable vertically at the front of the garment, said front panel having opposite side edge portions converging downwardly toward each other from points located below said upper ends of said lower side panelparts and opposite side edge portions extending above said points to points positioned above the wearers waistline, said lower side panel part having an edge portion extending downwardly from said first mentioned point stitched to the adjacent downwardly converging edge portion and an edge portion extending upwardly from said first mentioned pointan'd laterally of the adjacent upwardly extending side edge portion of said front panel, said upper part of the side panels having a side edge extending upwardly from said first mentioned point to said other point stitched to the adjacent upwardly extending edge portion of said front panel, the lower edge of said upper part extending from said first mentioned point and being stitched to the laterally extending edge portion of the lower side panel part, and said rear panel including a lower section extending downwardly from a point below said upper ends of the lower side panel parts and an upper section stitched thereto and extending upwardly thereof, said lower section being stretchable vertically of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable laterally of the wearer, the opposite side edges of said lower section being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said lower side panel parts, the side edges of said upper section each having an upper side edge portion and a lower side edge portion, said upper side edge portions being stitched to the adjacent side edges of said. upper side panel parts opposite the side edges of the latter stitched to the front panel, and said lower side edge portions being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said 1 lower panel parts extending above the side edges,

respectively, of said lower section, said upper side panel parts, the portion of the front panel extending therebetween and said upper section of said rear panel forming a waist fitting and encircling part of the garment.

2. A foundation garment comprising a torso encircling part including a substantially nonstretchable front panel, a rear panel and side panels stitched to opposite side edges of said front and rear panels, respectively, said side panels each including a lower part extending over the sides of the wearers hips and terminating at its upper end below the wearers waistline and an upper part stitched to said upper end and extending upwardly thereof, said lower part being stretchable laterally of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable vertically at the front of the garment, said front panel having opposite side edge portions converging downwardly toward each other from points located below said upper ends of said lower side panel parts and opposite side edge portions extending above said points to points positioned above the wearers panel, said upper part of the side panels having a side edge extending upwardly from said first mentioned point to said other point stitched to the adjacent upwardly extending edge portion of said front panel, the lower edge of said upper part extending from said first mentioned point and being stitched to the laterally extending edge portion of the lower side panel part, and said rear panelincluding a lower section extending downwardly from a point below said upper ends of the lower side panel parts and an upper section stitched .6 thereto and extending upwardly thereof, said lower section being stretchable vertically 0f the wearer and substantially non-stretchable. laterally of the wearer, the opposite side edges of said lower section being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said lower side panel parts, the side edges of said upper section each having anupper side edge portion and a lowerside edge portion, said upper side edge portions being stitched to the adjacent side edges of said upper sidepanel parts opposite the side edges of the latter stitched to the front panel; and said lower side edge portions being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said lower panel parts extending above the side edges, respectively, of said lower section, said upper side panel parts, the portion of the front panel extending therebetween and said upper section of said rear panel forming a waist fitting and encircling part of the garment, said lower side panel parts being cut and disposed in the garment so that portions of said lowerparts adjacent said lower back panel section are, on the bias and stretchable with said lower section vertically of the wearer.

3. A foundation garment comprising a torso encircling part including a substantially nonstretchable front panel, a rear panel and side panels stitched to opposite side edges, of: said front and rear panels, respectively, said side panels each including a lower part extending over the sides of the wearers hips and terminating at its upper end below the wearers waistline and an upper part stitched to said upper end and extending upwardly thereof, said lower part being stretchable laterally of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable vertically at the front of the garment, said front panel having opposite side edge portions converging downwardly to ward each other from points located below said upper ends of said lower side panel parts and opposite side edge portions extending above said points to, points positioned above the wearers waistline, said lower side panel part having an edge portion extending downwardly from said first mentioned point stitched to the adjacent downwardly converging edge portion and an edge portion extending upwardly from said first mentioned point and laterally of the adjacent upwardly extending side edge portion of saidfront panel, saidupper part of the side panels having a side edge extending upwardly from saidfirst mentioned point to said other point stitched to the adjacent upwardly extending edge portion of said front panel, the lower edge of said upper part extending from said first mentioned point and being stitched to the laterally extending edge portion of the lower side panel part, and said rear panel including a lower section extending downwardly from a point below said upper ends of the lower side panel parts and an upper section stitched thereto and extending upwardly thereof, said lower section-being stretchable vertically of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable laterally of the wearer,

the opposite side edges of said lower section being stitched to adjacent side edgeportions of said lower side panel parts, said upper section of said rear panel comprising a form fitting insert stitched at its lower edge to the upper edge of said lower section and a back part stitched at its lower edge to the upper edge of said insert,

the side edges oi said back part being stitched to the adjacent side edges of said upper side panel parts opposite the side edges of the latter stitched to the front panel, the side edges of said insert 7 beingstitched to adjacent side edges of said lower panel parts extending above the side edges,

, respectively, of said lower section, said upper side panels each including a lower part extending over the sides of the wearers hips and terminating at its upper end below the wearers waistline and an upper part stitched to said upper end and extending upwardly thereof, said lower part being stretchable laterally of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable vertically at the front of the garment, said front panel having opposite side edge portions converging downwardly toward each other from points located below said upper ends of said lower side panel parts and opposite side edge portions extending above said points to points positioned above the wearers waistline, said lower side panel part having an edge portion extending downwardly from said first mentioned point stitched to the adjacent downwardly converging edge portion and an edge portion extending upwardly from said first mentioned point and laterally of the adjacent upwardly extending side edge portion of said front panel, said upper part of the side panels having a side edge extending upwardly from said first mentioned point to said other point stitched to the adjacent upwardly extending edge portion of said front panel, the lower edge of said upper part extending from said first mentioned point and being stitched to the laterally extending edge portion of the lower side panel part, and said rear panel including a lower section extending downwardly from a point below said upper ends of the lower side panel parts and an upper section stitched thereto and extending upwardly thereof, said lower section being stretchable vertically of the wearer and substantially nonstretchable laterally of the wearer, the opposite side edges of said lower section being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said lower side 'panel parts, the side edges of said upper section each having an upper side edge portion and a,

lower side edge portion, said upper side edge portions being stitched to the adjacent side edges of said upper side panel parts opposite the side edges of the latter stitched to the front panel, and said lower side edge portions being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said lower panel parts extending above the side edges, respectively, of said lower section, said upper side panel parts, the portion of the front panel extending therebetween and said upper section of said rear panel forming a waist fitting and encircling part of the garment, said upper side panel parts and said upper back panel section each being stretchable laterally of the wearer, and said waist encircling part having its upper end at the waistline of the garment.

5. A foundation garment comprising a torso encircling part including a substantially nonstretchable front panel, a rear panel and side panels stitched to opposite side edges of said 8 l front and rear panels, respectively, said side panels each including a lower part extending over the sides of the wearers hips and terminating at its upper end below the wearers waistline and an upper part stitched to said upper end and extending upwardly thereof, said lower part being stretchable laterally of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable vertically at the front of the garment, said front panel having opposite side edge portions converging downwardly toward each other from points located below said upper ends of said lower side panel parts and opposite side edge portions extending above said points to points positioned above the wearers waistline, said lower side panel part having an edge portion extending downwardly from said first mentioned point stitched to the adjacent downwardly converging edge portion and an edge portion extending upwardly from said first mentioned point and laterally of the adjacent upwardly extending side edge portion of said front panel, said upper part of the side panels having a side edge extending upwardly from said first mentioned point to said other point stitched to the adjacent upwardly extending edge portion of said front panel, the lower edge of said upper part extending from said first mentioned point and being stitched to'the laterally extending edge portion of the lower side panel part, and said rear panel including a, lower section extending downwardly from a point below said upper ends of the lower side panel parts and an upper section stitched thereto and extending upwardly thereof, said lower section being stretchable vertically of the wearer and substantially non-stretchable laterally of the wearer, the opposite side edges of said lower section being stitched to adjacent side edge portions of said lower side panel parts, the side edges of said upper section being stitched both to the side edges of said upper panel parts opposite the edges of the latter stitched to'the front panel and to side edge portions of said lower panel parts extending above the side edges, respectively, of said lower section, said upper panel parts, the portion of the front panel extending therebetween and said upper section of said rear panel forming a waist fitting and encircling part of the garment, said lower side panel parts being cut and disposed in the garment so that portions of said lower parts adjacent said lower back panel section are on the bias and stretchable with said lower section vertically of the wearer, said garment including a brassiere and said upper side panel parts being vertically stretchable and having upper edge portions secured to lower edge portions of said brassiere.

MARGARET H. WITTENBE-RG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

